Page 8 of Aaron

I dip my head to see what he’s pointing at. Duh. “Yes, please. I’m a bit vertically challenged. Thank you.” This is what I get for traveling alone. I always have my family with me, and I don’t have to think about stuff like being too short.

“No problem,” he replies.

After sliding my backpack under the seat in front of me, I sit down, pulling my seatbelt around my waist. Once I’ve yanked the fabric to make sure it’s tight, I sink into the wide, cushy seat and breathe a sigh of relief. I made it. Yay.

My seatmate’s deep chuckle makes me turn my head toward him. He’s older than I thought from my first glance. His hair has streaks of gray, and laugh lines frame his eyes. His smile seems genuine, so I smile back.

The flight attendants run through the security briefing, and I check my seatbelt again and turn off my phone. Flying makes Little Cheri want to come out, but I can’t let her—not in public. It’s why I write age-play books. I live vicariously through my characters since I can’t have it in real life. I doubt real Daddies even exist. Sure, lots of authors write about them, but has anyone ever seen one of these unicorns? It’s sad.

Once we reach altitude, I relax a little. As soon as we’re allowed to use electronics, I grab my laptop. It’ll take over four hours to get to Atlanta. That leaves me plenty of time to work on my book.

When I think about where I left Gabi and Seth, I cringe. They’re going to be so mad at me. Seth has been edging Gabi for at least six hours. She’s going to kill me—if she hasn’t passed out from bliss already. Poor Gabi. Poor Seth, too. His dick was already hard enough to pound rocks; it’s probably ready to explode.

While I’m waiting for my document to load, I turn on my phone and a million dings, like alarm bells, chime over and over. I sink into my seat, my face heats, my cheeks have to be bright red as I duck from the judgmental stares, and mute my phone.

Merda. As I rush to sign in, I’m worried Jaclyn is in trouble and needs me. But when I finally get my screen unlocked, she’s not the one in deep doo-doo. Nope. It’s definitely me. The group chat with my brothers is blowing up my phone. Jerk-burgers. They refuse to believe I’m a grown-up. Instead, they treat me like I’m still in elementary school and they need to keep me sheltered from everything.

Okay, so I might have a history of getting myself into trouble, but they haven’t found out about the last few incidents. It’s why I love living in San Jose with Jac so much. They can’t watch me as closely—usually. This is what I get for grabbing the wrong credit card when I was hurrying to book this flight.

I love my brothers, but they’re annoying poo-heads most of the time. If I tell them why I’m flying to Asheville and what I’m doing, they’re going to have a fit. Traveling alone is a huge no-no in my family, and even worse is going somewhere they haven’t vetted first. I’m in a heap of trouble, no doubt about it.

The phone vibrates as messages keep popping up in the group chat. Cavolo! They’re ganging up on me as usual—demanding to know what I’m doing and where I’m heading.

Cris: Answer us, Rece, now! Damn it, Little girl.

Dante: Why isn’t she answering? What the fuck is going on?

Enzo: Should we tell Dad?

Oh God. I need Maxy, but he has to stay hidden. How would I explain to the guy next to me if he sees me clutching my stuffie? With my lower lip between my teeth, I bite it and look around. My backpack is still on my lap, but at least I can see Maxy’s head. Close, but not close enough. My phone vibrates again, and I bite harder. Ouch! Why does my family have to be like this?

I slide over in my seat so I’m closer to the armrest by the nice man, and shove my backpack into the space on the other side. Pretending I’m looking for something, I rub Maxy’s fur. Burying my face in his fur would be better, but this small touch helps to ease some of my panic. We’ve got this, right, Maxy?

If I could hold him, he’d say, “Of course we do.” He and Jac are my best friends—my ride-or-die. Too bad Jac isn’t here; she’d tell them to fuck off and mind their own business. She’s right, too.

Is it crazy that I can stick up for her and anyone else but not myself? Especially with my family. They always make me feel like I’m clueless and stupid about my safety. My phone vibrates again. Merda. I don’t want my brothers calling Dad. He’ll flip out and send them after me for sure.

Cherise: I’m fine. I had to wait until it was safe to use my phone.

Matty: See, I told you there was a good reason she wasn’t answering. Yelling at her never works. When will you fuckers learn? I’m glad you waited to use your phone, good girl. But why are you on the plane?

Matty is the youngest of my brothers. Four boys before my parents had me. My birth disappointed Mom. She reminds me all the time that I should have been a boy. I’m not sure why she hates that I’m a girl. I’d love to have a daughter someday. Nonna says it’s because girls in our families end up in arranged marriages, and even though my parents love each other, most matches don’t work out well. Dad treats me like a little doll—he dresses me up and shows me off. They planned my future when I was born. Everyone in the family expects me to follow the rules, but these last few years, since I made my escape to go to college in California, I realized I can’t do what they want. No way am I marrying that testa di cazzo, Arturo Russo. He’s a slimy pig. Hmm. That’s not fair to the pig. I almost feel lighter until the phone vibrates again.

I decide that sticking as close to the truth as possible is best, and hopefully keep them from chasing after me.

Cheri: Jaclyn’s getting married, and I’m going to the wedding. See, it’s all good. No reason to worry. I’m perfectly safe. Nothing will happen to me on Gallant Mountain.

I hit send. Oh no! I shouldn’t have said Gallant Mountain. Why didn’t I just stop at the wedding? Ugh.

Cris: Jaclyn isn’t dating anyone. How is she getting married? What’s really going on, Rece?

Cherise: How do you know what Jaclyn is doing? Are you following us? That’s an invasion of privacy! And stop calling me Rece. My name is Cherise or Cheri.

Dante: Not happening. You’re our Little Rece. Nothing is off-limits when it comes to our little sister. You should know that by now.

Matty: Fuck, bro. Ease off. Rece, you had to know we’d be watching over you even while you’re in California. Neither of you is dating anyone, so tell us the truth, or this won’t end well for you if Dad gets involved.

Merda! Why didn’t I know they were watching? Because of course they are. My stupid brothers probably have trackers on our phones. They had better not have cameras in our apartment, too. I’ll kill them myself. I guess I should have expected it, but not that they’d be spying on Jaclyn, too. Andrew won’t like this at all.